Post by robeiae on Dec 4, 2018 9:55:31 GMT -5
No, not the overbearing blowhard on the radio, the band.
Last night, I watched Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, a 2010 documentary on the band that is really most excellent.
It not only features old footage of the band, extended interviews with the members, their agent, and others, it also is interspersed with other interviews involving many other professional musicians. Vince may already know this, but Rush opened for Kiss A LOT in its early tours. Gene Simmons was interviewed for the movie and one of the most interesting things that he notes is just how supremely uninterested Rush was in the whole after-concert/groupie scene. He and the rest of Kiss were partying, taking women back to their rooms, while the guys in Rush would go back to their rooms and watch TV or *gasp* READ.
Anyway, the movie also notes--in fact Geddy Lee specifically talks about--how Rush's core fans have always been male. Always.
I knew guys who were way into Rush in middle and high school. And I knew plenty of people--like me--who just thought Rush was great. All guys. While it's true that most heavy metal fans seemed to be guys in those days, their were plenty of girls who at least liked some of the bands, who would go to the concerts. Not so for Rush. Both Rush concerts I went to were total sausage fests.
And then there's the fact that music critics HATED Rush. I think it was a real thing among them, who could insult the new Rush album the best. Anyone who has seen Spinal Tap might recall Reiner reading reviews to the band. That's pretty much what Rush got.
How to explain this...
My thesis is that Rush's lyrics pinged simple cultural themes with (needlessly?) heavy symbolism based largely on high fantasy, the latter of which was largely male-oriented in nature.
That, and Rush was butt-ugly with absolutely no sense of fashion.
Now, some might say "What about Zeppelin? They have plenty of female fans and they have songs inspired by Tolkien." I'd argue that such songs in the Zeppelin catalog are not the ones most women like (apart from Stairway, which is just making a reference, really). Speaking again specifically of my experiences, girls I knew who were into Zeppelin liked Good Times, Bad Times, liked Dazed and Confused, liked When the Levee Breaks, liked All of My Love, not Ramble On, The Battle of Evermore, and so on (and yeah, I know there were exceptions).
So, here's the secondary thesis: the growth in Rush appreciation--to the point that they ended up in the Hall and some past critics recanted--is partially a consequence of the democratization of the high fantasy genre, and as this continues Rush will continue to grow in reputation.
Thoughts?
Last night, I watched Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, a 2010 documentary on the band that is really most excellent.
It not only features old footage of the band, extended interviews with the members, their agent, and others, it also is interspersed with other interviews involving many other professional musicians. Vince may already know this, but Rush opened for Kiss A LOT in its early tours. Gene Simmons was interviewed for the movie and one of the most interesting things that he notes is just how supremely uninterested Rush was in the whole after-concert/groupie scene. He and the rest of Kiss were partying, taking women back to their rooms, while the guys in Rush would go back to their rooms and watch TV or *gasp* READ.
Anyway, the movie also notes--in fact Geddy Lee specifically talks about--how Rush's core fans have always been male. Always.
I knew guys who were way into Rush in middle and high school. And I knew plenty of people--like me--who just thought Rush was great. All guys. While it's true that most heavy metal fans seemed to be guys in those days, their were plenty of girls who at least liked some of the bands, who would go to the concerts. Not so for Rush. Both Rush concerts I went to were total sausage fests.
And then there's the fact that music critics HATED Rush. I think it was a real thing among them, who could insult the new Rush album the best. Anyone who has seen Spinal Tap might recall Reiner reading reviews to the band. That's pretty much what Rush got.
How to explain this...
My thesis is that Rush's lyrics pinged simple cultural themes with (needlessly?) heavy symbolism based largely on high fantasy, the latter of which was largely male-oriented in nature.
That, and Rush was butt-ugly with absolutely no sense of fashion.
Now, some might say "What about Zeppelin? They have plenty of female fans and they have songs inspired by Tolkien." I'd argue that such songs in the Zeppelin catalog are not the ones most women like (apart from Stairway, which is just making a reference, really). Speaking again specifically of my experiences, girls I knew who were into Zeppelin liked Good Times, Bad Times, liked Dazed and Confused, liked When the Levee Breaks, liked All of My Love, not Ramble On, The Battle of Evermore, and so on (and yeah, I know there were exceptions).
So, here's the secondary thesis: the growth in Rush appreciation--to the point that they ended up in the Hall and some past critics recanted--is partially a consequence of the democratization of the high fantasy genre, and as this continues Rush will continue to grow in reputation.
Thoughts?